Signalling end points within an SS7 network address or communicate with other entities using point codes. For example, originating point codes and destination point codes are used to identify source and destination entities within a network. The point codes are carried by or available from the MTP3 layer of the SS7 protocol stack. An SS7 network comprises a set of signalling points having respective point codes unique to that set.
Within European signalling networks based on the ITU Recommendations (Q Series) no regulatory organisation equivalent to ANSI, which imposes a numbering plan, exists to ensure SS7 entities in different SS7 networks have globally unique point codes. Thus, the situation may be encountered where a SS7 node in one SS7 network might use the same point code as another SS7 node in another SS7 network.